A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide local authority for school face covering determinations during the 2021‑2022 school year.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  For the 2021‑2022 school year, notwithstanding any other provision of law, except as provided in Section 2 of this act, the governing board of any public school unit or any nonpublic school shall have the exclusive authority to determine the use of face coverings, and any appropriate exceptions to those requirements, during the instructional day on the campus of the public school unit or nonpublic school.
SECTION 2.  For the 2021‑2022 school year, the Governor may require by executive order the use of face coverings for an individual public or nonpublic school to reduce the transmission of an airborne communicable disease during a state of emergency. The executive order shall include reasons specific to that school for requiring the use of face coverings, but the executive order may require the use of face coverings for any reason deemed necessary by the Governor. A single executive order shall not include a statewide face covering requirement for public or nonpublic schools.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.